Admission Requirements
Students are admitted to the master’s thesis if they have fulfilled the necessary requirements as stated in the examination guidelines.
Students of the M.Sc. Politics, Economics and Philosophy, enrolled in the examination guidelines of WS2009/10 must have acquired at least 72 credit points, where at least 24 credit points must have been obtained in an interdisciplinary seminar.
Students of the M.Sc. Politics, Economics and Philosophy, enrolled in the examination guidelines of WS2010/11 must have acquired at least 72 credit points, where at least 12 credit points must have been obtained in an interdisciplinary seminar.
The master’s thesis must be completed within 6 months after filing. Students enrolled in the examination guidelines of WS2009/10 may write their thesis in English or German. Students enrolled in the examination regulations of WS2010/11 must write in English. 30 credit points are granted for the successful completion of the master’s thesis.
Registration
Students may register for the master’s thesis earliest after having fulfilled the formal requirements for admission and latest within two semesters after the end of the regular period of studies (Regelstudienzeit). Students enrolled under the examination regulations of winter term 2010/11 must register within six weeks past the successful completion of all modules,i.e. past the announcement of the last examination result.
To register, students use the form registration for master’s thesis. This form can be obtained in hard copy from the Studienbüro.The registration form is to be submitted to the examinations officer of the Economics team.
The examinations officer will check whether the formal requirements for registratin for the master's thesis have been fulfilled and, by the end of the registration process, will inform students about the confirmed topic, writing period and deadline for submission of the thesis.
Note: After filing, students may change their topic only once, and only within the first two weeks of the writing period. Exceptions may be granted in extraordinary cases, upon request. If necessary, the board of examiners may decide on the proposal. If the proposal has been decided positively, the newly agreed topic must be registered immediately; latest within four weeks after the original withdrawal.
Supervisors
Students may suggest a supervisor for their master’s thesis. The suggested supervisor is to be finally approved by the board of examiners. The supervisor must be a professor at the University of Hamburg. Students should contact the program coordinator if they are not sure, whether a specific university lecturer would be allowed to supervise their master's thesis.
The topic of the master’s thesis must be discussed with and agreed by the assigned supervisor. It will be set out in writing on the registration form and must be confirmed by the supervisor with his/her signature.
Format of the Master's Thesis
The master’s thesis has to be bound in one item (no stitch or ring binding). It must be submitted in three hard copies and one soft copy (digitalized version).
The Master’s Thesis may be formatted as follows (unless indicated differently be the supervising tutor):
- Paper format A4
- Upper and lower margin 2cm
- Measure 15cm
- Left margin 4cm, right margin 2cm
- Line space 18Pt (1,5 space) for the text area
- Font size 10-14 Pt. Font: no Script, Symbol or similar
The first page of the thesis is to be blank.
The cover may be designed individually. The following information must, however, be included:
- Title of the master’s thesis
- Candidate's name and address
- Student ID (matriculation no.)
- Study program
- Name of the supervisor
- Date of submission as announced by the Office of Student Affairs.
The last page of the thesis must include a statement on the thesis' originality, which has to be signed in handwriting.
All internet sources must be documented as follows:
Internet address, day and time of last access
The candidate can choose whether or not s/he wants to provide a copy of the source’s full content (in print or digital version).
Submission
Students have 6 months time to submit their master’s thesis.
Requests for extension of the writing period must be submitted in writing to the chair of the board of examiners immediately. Generally, a one-time extension of up to 3 weeks may be granted. Only in special cases this extension period might be prolonged. Candidates have to submit their request to the program director in writing and with detailed explaination.
In cases of illness, the candidate has to immediately submit a qualified medical certificate to the Studienbüro. The qualified medical certificate must reach the Studienbüro latest 5 days after it has been issued.
Delayed submission may lead to failure of the master’s thesis, if the candidate can be held responsible (examination guidelines §16). In case of postal submission the postmark counts as date of submission.
Please mind that your writing period starts on the date, your supervisor has signed the registration form.
Repetition
If the master’s thesis has been graded „insufficient“(5,0), it can be repeated once. The candidate must apply for a second trial, latest six weeks after the examination result has been published. The request must be submitted to the program director informally but in writing.
Useful Resources
Contacts:
Examinations Offiicer: Andrea Augustin
Program Coordinator: Mareike Fiedler
Information:
Handout on Registration for Master's Thesis